2013 white tail hunting pictures and experiences.

I went up to my brother-in-law's camp in The Forks this weekend. We didn't get out into the woods until 2:30 or so on Saturday and I had zero expectations. He'd never hunted in the area behind his camp before so basically we were exploring more or less. There were plenty of moose tracks and droppings along the way. About a half mile in Pete found a little spot he liked and I decided I'd go on for another 1/2 mile or so and we'd meet back at a spot in between at 4:15. I hiked up a hill on a snowmobile trial until I was just below where it flattened out and curved off to the right. I found a nice spot that offered a little concealment to the left of the trail and where I could see the trail in both directions. The woods were just too dense with saplings for a shot into the wood so I was hoping I'd get one crossing. The wind was blowing toward the bend ahead so while that direction was going to be best, concealment wise, scent-wise I was better off keeping my eye on the way I had just come from. After about 20 minutes of being still and silent I took out the $12 Maine Woods deer call I purchase a whole 2 hours earlier and gave a couple blows. I'm no expert caller, in fact I've never held a deer call prior to this day, which was basically my fourth outing in my first hunting season since I was ten years old. Twice more I blew on the call in the very silent woods. About 15 minutes later I hear something up around the bend and get a glimpse of something large moving. At this point I'm thinking moose, hikers, or doe, in that order. So I raise my rifle - a Sionics Patrol Rifle III XL with Bushnell TRS-25 and SSA 64 gr bonded SP in 5.56 - to near where whatever it is should appear past the tree line. Just before it gets out in the open its obvious that not only is it a deer but definitely a buck. With my rifle securely shouldered I clicked off the safety and that buck walks out of the tree line and right into my sight and is standing straight on at about 45 yards. I waited as he nosed the ground and picked his head up 2 or three times and then he stepped out a little more and turned a little more than quarter-to. One shot just in front of the left shoulder and he jumped up on his hind legs and then plunged straight down. I couldn't believe it! Not only did he walk right in front of my sight but he dropped where he stood, too. And after less than 2 hours in the woods. It was a good weekend camp and my brothers-in-law were both happy help me field dress and lug him back to camp. 8 points and weighed in at 155 lbs, dressed. I gladly accepted all of the 'new guy' and 'rookie' jabs for the rest of the weekend. It's also the first deer harvested at camp and that's what I'm most proud of.

photo4.jpg
 
Great story!

I was up in the stand until dark yesterday. Decided to draw my bow before I packed it in, to see how much the cold was effecting me. SNAP goes the tubing for the peep.

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Snuck out of work early, and grabbed some tubing for the peep. Got on stand a little after 3. While the sun was up I tried some calling, with no response. Being that I've had one doe on cam, and 3 different bucks, I stuck with doe bleats. Just as the sun set, I hear some crunching downwind of me. I see movement about 50 yards away. It's dark, but it's a limb. Probably a moose, as I see more of them than deer. More crunching, but not like the giant Clydesdale-like stomps of a moose. Is it a hunter? The pace picks up, and it moves across an obscured lane. Now it sounds like a 300-pound kid running through the brush. I see a head pop up out of the laurel -- it's a bear. He's jumping up to check me out! He's 40 yards out, but in very thick cover. He crashes through some more brush, then jumps up onto a tree to get another view, but the tree's too small for him to grab onto. I guess that was enough to convince himself that I wasn't a whitetail, and he moved upwind. Still no deer sighted.
 
Some nice deer out there, I got one this morning that I think puts me in the running for the NES Big Buck club:

DeerPic2013_10Point.jpg

190lbs dressed, no heart/lungs, 10 points, G3's are 10.5" and 9.5", single shot from my .270 win at about 150 yards.

He didn't bleed a drop until about 20 yards after I hit him there was no exit wound, no hair, no blood at the spot I hit him. He went about 75 yards and piled up.
 
Great stories/posts everyone. I've been out 6 full days so far, dark-to-dark minus a few quick lunch breaks with nothing to show for it. Be out the next 4 days straight.
 
Last edited:
RB101 said:
Great stories/posts everyone. I've been out 6 full days so far, dark-to-dark minus a few quick lunch breaks with nothing to show for it. Be out the next 4 days straight.
Click to expand...

Funny how it works, I had 14 years without tagging a deer, today I got that 10 pointer after 2 and 1/2 hours in the woods. My first time in the woods this year.
 
I've been striking out big time. After passing on a fat doe with her fawns on Friday, I haven't seen a deer since then. Makes me wish I had killed her... That's four all day sits and not a peep in the woods.
 
NHAtHeart said:
Some nice deer out there, I got one this morning that I think puts me in the running for the NES Big Buck club:

View attachment 84993

190lbs dressed, no heart/lungs, 10 points, G3's are 10.5" and 9.5", single shot from my .270 win at about 150 yards.

He didn't bleed a drop until about 20 yards after I hit him there was no exit wound, no hair, no blood at the spot I hit him. He went about 75 yards and piled up.
Click to expand...


Nice one, congrats!
 
NHAtHeart said:
Some nice deer out there, I got one this morning that I think puts me in the running for the NES Big Buck club:

View attachment 84993

190lbs dressed, no heart/lungs, 10 points, G3's are 10.5" and 9.5", single shot from my .270 win at about 150 yards.

He didn't bleed a drop until about 20 yards after I hit him there was no exit wound, no hair, no blood at the spot I hit him. He went about 75 yards and piled up.
Click to expand...

Great buck, congrats!
 
First year hunter here. Been out for four full days and a few evenings this season. Seeing multiple does every other time out, but so far no luck taking anything. I took a pass on a fawn the other day, only because I got greedy during the ~20 seconds that my crosshairs were steadied on it, deciding at that moment that I wanted more meat than that for my antlerless permit. Of course, I'm currently at 0lbs. If I could go back, I'd take it. Been making a lot of other rookie mistakes as well, but I've also been learning a lot for the future.

I just got in from an afternoon in the woods at a new location. The location is far from ideal, but is basically a small valley (~110 yards across) with a fairly open pine stand on one side, a very open elm/hickory stand and no understory across the bottom, and a really thick, early successional pine stand up the other side. My only approach is from the open pine stand side, which is also always upwind, and there is a heavily used bedding site high atop the other side of the valley. There are game trails at the bottom of the valley, one following the edge on each side. Because of this I've been wary of crossing the valley. Earlier in the year I cleared out a spot behind a blowdown at the top of the hill on the approach side. The cover on the other side of the valley is so thick that I would barely even be able to see anything walking along the other game trail, even with boniculars, let alone have a clean shot from the blowdown. I've had pictures of two does throughout the year along the game trail on the approach side of the valley, but during each 2-3 week period that I've left the camera out, I've only gotten pictures once or twice.

Today I decided to cross the valley and put the camera up on the other game trail, to see if that is the one they use more often. Of course, just as I stand up after securing the camera, I see one of the ladies silently bouding away about 50' from me. Immediately found the nearest tree and sat behind it. After about 20 minutes of silence, I hear the ladies making their way up the other side of the valley, right by my blowdown. I started slowly moving out of the cover so I could see across the valley and stopped at a spot where I could just barely see them, but only as moving brown blobs through the trees. Pulled up my rifle to look through the scope, and sure enough it was the two of them. I panned a little bit to the side of them and I could see a third, much larger brown blob moving. As this blob walked into a small opening in the trees, its head appeared and I could see antlers! I didn't get a great look, but I did clearly see two spikes on one side, which is I guess not too impressive, but I was really surprised at just how long they were. Kept trying to slowly move into a position where I could get a shot, but eventually I just pissed the buck off and he started snorting at me. His snort was significantly deeper than any I've ever heard before. I figured since he already knew I was there, I might as well snort back and hope he thinks I'm just another buck. We went back an forth about 10 times before he finally got bored and trotted off to catch up with his ladies.

I've seen plenty of deer throughout the years, but this was my first time ever seeing a buck. So. F***ing. Cool!

So my questions now are:

1) How long will a buck follow a pair of does like this? Has anyone seen him following them one day, then gone out again the next day and seen the buck still following the same does? I'm considering going out super early for an all day sit tomorrow.

2) If I sit on either side of the valley, I will only be able to see the game trail on that side of the valley. There is also a new, small blowdown at the bottom of the valley where I could see both sides, but I'm a little concerned about being able to stay still enough all day long. I really only move when things start to go numb from the cold or pressure points, but that happens pretty often to me (every ~30 mins or so). Would you pick a side and hope they pick that trail? Or would you sit in the middle and hope they don't see/smell you?

Thanks!

- J
 
I have been out atleast 10 mornings and evenings, haven't seen a thing. I've been working so I haven't been out in about a week. I had a lot of pictures but they were at night. I haven't checked the camera so I hope I see some surprises.

6am I'm off for a week and a half and ill sit all day everyday. Then I work 2 days and have 4 more off. I just hope the deer are moving during the day so I can finally get some action.

Congratulations on the bucks! Always good to know someone is doin some killin
 
NHAtHeart said:
Funny how it works, I had 14 years without tagging a deer, today I got that 10 pointer after 2 and 1/2 hours in the woods. My first time in the woods this year.
Click to expand...


Forgot to add...beauty of a buck. What (general) area of NH you hunt? I hunt NH/ME harder than MA.
 
Anybody heard from Plural of Mongoose? He usually kills a truckload.

-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.
 
RB101 said:
Forgot to add...beauty of a buck. What (general) area of NH you hunt? I hunt NH/ME harder than MA.
Click to expand...

Thanks it's by far the largest I've ever seen and shot. I did a rough scoring on it and it should be around 154 for a typical whitetail. That deer was from southern ME, I don't hunt a huge amount in NH but I have a lifetime hunting license for ME so I take a week every year and go up. My parents got me a lifetime license when I was a kid so I am not considered a ME resident for hunting for the rest of my life even though I live in NH it works out quite well.
 

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